Varient Floyd

Hey well i apologise for making you feel that way. It's kinda my style to be jokey and use stuff like that, but it doesn't always seem to go down well - hmmm one day i'll learn.

The forums been around for nearly 4 years being mainly general Muppet talk and theres never been a Muppet figure line like this. Since the figures were introduced we've been practically deluged by lots of hardcore figure collectors who are here more because they collect figures than because its the Muppets (although thats not saying they can't be both, but usually the figures outweigh the other interest) so basically the figure posts clogged up the whole forum which is about so much more. A seperate category for figures has been created to try and group all that topic together so it's easier to get to the other kinds of stuff too but both collectors and general fans inhabit it so when you are talking to someone here they may well just be a casual Muppet collector and not a big figure enthusiast and this will likely be their first trip into the world of exclusives and variants. It's all been quite a shock around here !

I'm just curious, I joined the palisades collectors slub a couple of weeks ago and I never recieved notice on getting a chance to purchase a invisible Fozzie. Was I accidentally skipped or they did not offer it yet?

I think the casual, non-freaky buyers of Floyd would buy him just because he looks cool and he's a good-lookin musician; I seriously doubt there are a lot of people out there who know that Floyd is "supposed" to wear a red jacket, and that the variant is the one wearing the blue. Personally, I'll just be looking for the red anyway, so that will leave a blue one for y'all.

>>>I beg you, come up with some sane way to define that for me. I do not consider myself "Hardcore" and without sounding like I'm patting myself on the back, probably have one of the most extensive Muppet collections around. I collect original artwok of the muppets mostly and this whole idea of "Hardcore" is stupid. Are you a better fan or bigger fan because you are "Hardcore?"<<<

I for one consider myself hardcore, from a very young age. I think we all out to be on a online forum about the Muppets. The truth is th eMuppets, in the sense of being a big fan, is most definately underground. I mean JHC figures theres only 1000 hardcore fans.
You yourself sound like a hardcore fan if you indeed have such an extensive collection.

Do you care about the state of the Muppets more? I would definately say not in the least. <<<

I care about the state of the Muppets...in fact Im less about TMS nostalgia, and more into the current modernizing of the Muppets. And of course the glory of the late 80's!^_^

>>>and to people who care because this was such a big part of there chilhood. All you "Hardcore Fans" who sit around quizzing each other to see who has more knowledge, and studying episodes to find a deeper meaning miss the point totally. <<<

>>>I love the fact that my six year old knows or remembers things about the Muppet Show from episodes that we've watched together that I don't<<<

hehe, from what I remember I was *just* like that at that age when TMS was in syndication!

>>>The forums been around for nearly 4 years being mainly general Muppet talk and theres never been a Muppet figure line like this. Since the figures were introduced we've been practically deluged by lots of hardcore figure collectors who are here more because they collect figures than because its the Muppets <<<

here here...this is definately a new thing on MC, there does seem to be a heavy tidal wave of collectors only. Well, if thats how we get new members to MC so be it, hehe. Hopefully they find their ways to non figure sections on here though.

Have you ever seen the movie "For The Love Of The Game?" or "When It Was A Game?" Now please, I'm not putting you down in any way, I'm just trying to make my point a little clearer. These movies show a sport when it was at its purest, and most honest. No jacked up salaries, no ESPN announcers saying "Booya", just kids loving the game for what it is and what it represents. And when these kids grow up, they feel shut out from the game in many ways, because the people that control the game have let this happen. With stupid quiz shows to see who has more knowledge, or Mike Lupica (who has never played organized sports in his life) telling me whats wrong or right with the game. All the while, the people who made baseball what it is today(the fans)left out in the cold. You see they just love the game, not the hype. I think if you equate this story to the "State Of The Muppets" and all this chatter about getting locked out of exclusives I think you will see what I'm getting at.

Yours Truely,

Kmsphoto

P.S.- I personally equate a sumg and arrogant s.o.b. like Mike Lupica to a "Hardcore" Muppet fan.

>>>Have you ever seen the movie "For The Love Of The Game?" or "When It Was A Game?" <<<

was this the Kevin Costner film? He seems to only do films that have to do with post apocalyptic wastelands or baseball films.

Now please, I'm not putting you down in any way, I'm just trying to make my point a little clearer. These movies show a sport when it was at its purest, and most honest. No jacked up salaries, no ESPN announcers saying "Booya", just kids loving the game for what it is <<<

Aw, you mean back in the days before most of the players started 'roiding up and getting $250 million salaries?

>>> You see they just love the game, not the hype. I think if you equate this story to the "State Of The Muppets" and all this chatter about getting locked out of exclusives I think you will see what I'm getting at<<<

um...so what was your point? I dont care one way or another about how easy or hard variants and exclusives are to obtain...
and about being 'hardcore', that was just my word to describe being a big muppet fan..which I presume is why we come onto an online Muppet forum.

My point, and I swear this will be the last time I say this, is that there are two types of Muppet fans, 1: The ones who love the Muppets because they made them laugh and it made them feel good. 2: Then there is the typical Hardcore fan who knows all the trivia, all the hidden meanings, and probally didnt watch it when it when was a weakly show, but they fell superior to everyone because of there knowledge. Please dont argue this point with me if you cant understand what I'm trying to say, and I'm sure most people agree with this.

P.S.- I'm pretty sure the only ones who disagree are the ones who consider themselves "Hardcore."

I've always thought of it tihs way.....There ARE two types of Muppet fans.....
Those that like Neil Diamond and those that don't.

Seriously, I think if you like Mupets, well then you like Muppets. do some people know more about it than others. Yes, but thats' true of anything: Elvis, Disney, the Civil War, etc. Do I feel some great rift because Phil or Jamie or arrick can tell me who was the guest star in episode #blah blah blah or wo played somelong forgotten character? No. Because as KMC said, many people who came to the Muppets came to it through a love for the joy it brought them. I think that's true no matter ho big of a fan you are. So I have to disagree with what was saids abot only beign a hardcore fan becasue they 'felt superior about their knowledge'. If you didn't fall in love with it, why would you even bother learning what was there?

I was saying this to soemone the other night that, there have been fads in my life; ninja turtles, Thundercats, whatever.....but the Muppets have been with me through every stage of life. I still watch The Great Muppet Caper and the Muppet Movie like it's the first tme I've seen them and still love them like the first ime I saw them. I think that's true no matter what size of a Muppet fan yo uare.

Originally posted by kmcphoto Thank You Matleo! Finally someone got the message I was trying to say.

Click to expand...

I did?!?!?! I could have sworn I was debating against your point? To be truthful, when I read your post this morning it really bugged me. I think you made a lot of attacks on people (including myself) about loving the Muppets for the wrong reason..... or at least that's what I got out of your message.

Maybe our definition of hardcore is different. I consder myself a hardcore fan. Like I said, the Muppets have been with me thorugh every stage of life. A lot of times I DO know who played a lot of obscure long forgotten characters, and CAN name what episode a certain sketch appeared in, and I like to look for the little 'in-gags' in the movies and what-not. But that's NOT why I consider myself a hardcore fan. It's because I LOVE the Muppets. I became a puppeteer because of the Muppets. I read as much as much as I can, and watch as much as I can because I find Jim Henson's body of work fascinating. but that's part of the thing....Jim's body of work...it's huge!!!! Every one has something different they feel passionate about. Some are huge SS fans, some are huge Muppet fans, some are into Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, and Storyteller, some are real Fraggle fanatics. Some know more about one subject than another. I mean I'm pretty well read but I KNOW that there are people here who know more than I do about some things, and I also know it's because they love the Muppets too. Phil started Muppet Central because he loves the Muppets! BlueFrackle has one of the most extensive collections around because he loves the Muppets! Jamie and Luke have opinions on everything because they love the Muppets! Jackie, Emmy, Byron, Joggy, Chris, Gorry, Quinn (or rather Quinnnnnnnnn) Nate, Cory, Kevin, Annika, myself and everybody else here all come because we love the JHC. And I assume that's why you're here too. So I guess I have to agree with Jackie when she asked what your point was, because to be honest I'm not so sure of it myself. Anyway, I'm glad to know you agree with me. I'm weirded out by it a little but I'm glad to know you agree...kinda....sorta...I'm confused.

I think you're seriously hardcore if you're willing to get a big honkin' tattoo on a very visible spot of your body of some subject (Muppets or otherwise) that you're very passionate about and don't care if it won't be relevant to anyone but you in 25 years.

Louis Kazagger (who isn't tattoeed, but knows a guy who got a huge Transformer tattoo in the mid eighties. Said guy is ecstatic that the Transformers are making a comeback now, because he felt very self conscious about it for years.)

Well, I tried, but you did agree with me on the point that many people came to love the Muppets for different reasons. So I dont know what you are talking about to be quite honest, so when you try attacking my post, get your facts straight. Second, my views on hardcore fans are very much accurate, I say this because it really seemed to tick you off, so there must be some truth to it, because you must consider yourself "Hardcore." So I will now take my tiny knowledge of Muppets and ride off into the sunset. God Bless.

Originally posted by Louis Kazagger Louis Kazagger (who isn't tattoeed, but knows a guy who got a huge Transformer tattoo in the mid eighties. Said guy is ecstatic that the Transformers are making a comeback now, because he felt very self conscious about it for years.)

Click to expand...

LOL - good job he wasn't a fan of the Care Bears then eh ?

Seriously, i personally do NOT consider myself hardcore (though i do have opinions on everything). Maybe the 'average joe' would consider me hardcore, but i met Phil, Michael, BlueFrackle and a whole heap of other and believe me, i ain't hardcore ! ;-)

Hey guys,
Here's my definition of a hardcore figure collector:
When I was in college Star Wars was releasing a line of figures called Shadows of the Empire. This is the period in my life that I refer to as "The Dark Times." Shadows was a line based on a book which took place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. These figures were supposed to be released in April of 96. So beginning in April, every morning my roommate and I would drive to 3 local toysrus, and 3 walmarts looking for them. They kept getting delayed. But we never gave up. Every day for 5 months we went searching and every day, we'd come home empty handed and depressed. Finally in early August, reports started coming in that they were showing up in stores. We went nuts. We spent every night driving back and forth to the 3 Walmarts making multiple stops at each one because trucks were coming in all throughout the night. Every night from 9:00 PM until 4:00 AM. Every night. We were tired, and broken and sad. My roommate had a series of nervous breakdowns. One trip he actually began to cry from exhaustion. "I don't know how much longer I can do this..I feel like I'm going to die. My body is giving out." "Fear, anger, aggression, the Dark Side are they." After hundreds of hours of searching, and hundreds of dollars in gas, we found them in late September. We were thinner. Our grades had suffered. I almost lost my girlfriend. We were like zombies for a week after. But we found those figures. Are we dealers? No not at all. Just fans who got way out of control. Not a story I'm proud of. It was my one true experience with obsession. Never again have I done anything like that. And never again will I. It's not worth it. But it just shows you how a human's brain can become clouded by obsession. Nothing else seems to matter, no logic applies. That's my definition of hardcore.
-Artie

Originally posted by MrTheFrog Hey guys,
Here's my definition of a hardcore figure collector:
When I was in college Star Wars was releasing a line of figures called Shadows of the Empire. This is the period in my life that I refer to as "The Dark Times." Shadows was a line based on a book which took place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. These figures were supposed to be released in April of 96. So beginning in April, every morning my roommate and I would drive to 3 local toysrus, and 3 walmarts looking for them. They kept getting delayed. But we never gave up. Every day for 5 months we went searching and every day, we'd come home empty handed and depressed. Finally in early August, reports started coming in that they were showing up in stores. We went nuts. We spent every night driving back and forth to the 3 Walmarts making multiple stops at each one because trucks were coming in all throughout the night. Every night from 9:00 PM until 4:00 AM. Every night. We were tired, and broken and sad. My roommate had a series of nervous breakdowns. One trip he actually began to cry from exhaustion. "I don't know how much longer I can do this..I feel like I'm going to die. My body is giving out." "Fear, anger, aggression, the Dark Side are they." After hundreds of hours of searching, and hundreds of dollars in gas, we found them in late September. We were thinner. Our grades had suffered. I almost lost my girlfriend. We were like zombies for a week after. But we found those figures. Are we dealers? No not at all. Just fans who got way out of control. Not a story I'm proud of. It was my one true experience with obsession. Never again have I done anything like that. And never again will I. It's not worth it. But it just shows you how a human's brain can become clouded by obsession. Nothing else seems to matter, no logic applies. That's my definition of hardcore.
-Artie

Click to expand...

Gee Artie, and here you seemed to be such a level-headed sort of guy. I guess that story proves that even the most sane individuals can take a walk off the deep end now and then.

And the really strange part is that neither of them had ever even read the book?!?!?

Methinks you were one step away from a tattoo of Xizor.

One year I skipped university classes with a buddy of mine to go to Spring Training baseball games every day for about a month, seeking autographs from major leaguers. I just shake my head when I think about it now. Today, I wouldn't cross the street if the Queen of England (or Heidi Klum) was at my neighbor's house.